EPA Issues Immediately Effective Rule Amending RCRA Definition of Solid Waste

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EPA Issues Immediately Effective Rule Amending RCRA Definition of Solid Waste

Responding to July 2017 and March 2018 orders issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 30, 2018, issued a final rule revising the Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). 83 Fed. Reg. 24664. In a somewhat unusual move, EPA relied upon Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to make the rule immediately effective and dispensed with notice and public comment. Under APA Section 553, EPA is authorized to forego notice and comment rulemaking when “for good cause” EPA finds that these procedures are “impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest.” EPA determined that there is good cause for revising these provisions “because these revisions simply undertake the ministerial task of implementing court orders vacating these rules and reinstating the prior versions.”

Read the full memorandum online.

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